Till Death Do Us Part, And Forever After
by sapphireLavender
Summary: Before The Band of Seven was created, Bankotsu and Jakotsu travelled together alone. After a realization shortly before the quest of finding new members for the mercenary band, Jakotsu is left perplexed.
1. Feelings

**A/N: I wrote this because I was feeling sort of sad. This story is very similar to some one-shots I wrote awhile ago.. 'Piercing Heartbreak' and its sequels, 'Drop Dead Gorgeous' and 'Love to die for'. But different, I guess.**

 **I had a lot of help from my friend, Piper Poptato Chisp, with things like describing the environment and emotions as well as the title.**

* * *

The details weren't something Jakotsu was particularly concerned with, although it almost seemed like he should be. There were certain things he considered asking, such as if they were going to name it and several things that were similar to that, but he was preoccupied with an unusual train of thought.

They seemed to be making quite a bit of distance from where they had previously been, where Bankotsu had decided to make a band of mercenaries, though Jakotsu was paying very little attention to that fact.

Jakotsu wasn't quite sure what to do, he just felt really confused and on top of that, an overwhelming terror that had been there for longer than he appreciated.

It was very quiet, as there was just about no sound other than their footsteps, which allowed both of them to think. Quiet or not, that didn't change how difficult it was to understand what he was thinking. It was new to him, and as it was new he knew very little about it. He didn't understand it at all, no matter how much he kept thinking about it. It was starting to annoy him.

There was a lot they would have to work out, as that was to be expected, and at the moment it just seemed they'd get to it eventually.

Neither of them seemed to notice how far they had already travelled, lost in their thoughts, although they were thinking about _very_ different things. Jakotsu wanted to ignore everything he was currently feeling, the butterflies in his stomach were making him feel sick.

Jakotsu attempted to think about the band of mercenaries and such rather than what he was currently thinking about, and he was beginning to realize more about it. It hardly even occurred to Jakotsu how much change was about to undoubtedly happen, and thinking about it, he wasn't sure about a few things. Would they be able to trust everyone? Jakotsu wasn't really sure, he didn't usually tend to trust that many people.

The area they had been walking in, a trampled grass path in a quiet, almost entirely empty field was slowly being replaced by a curved horizon. The field grew further and further in the distance as they walked, until eventually they couldn't see it and the sun began to set, casting warm rainbows along the sky.

As night drew closer, it was increasingly getting colder.

Bankotsu placed his halberd, Banryu, down as he observed their surroundings. It wasn't too long until the two of them had set up camp, laying on the grass which brushed against their skin, and when the sun had finished setting the stars began to become visible, progressively covering the sky. Jakotsu adjusted his position, placing his arms underneath his head before he glanced at Bankotsu, who was barely visible in the lighting.

The entire day thoughts had rushed through his head on a variety of topics, but the majority had been about one. A very concerning one, at that. But now, it seemed there was very few, it was as though he was just too tired to think, or perhaps he had already thought about everything he could.

They breathed in the refreshing frosty air that seemed to lift any lingering tension.

Jakotsu gazed at the sky, the what seemed to be unlimited amount of stars shining in the sky, feeling calmer than he in a while since he had realized.. He closed his eyes, trying to avoid thinking about it further and disturbing the quiet, serene moment. It wasn't long until he had drifted off, the two of them sleeping underneath the stars.

It didn't feel long before it was morning. The sun was rising, turning the sky a light orange.

The two of them had both woken up at similar times, a sort of lightheartedness surrounding them as they prepared to continue travelling, hoping to find a village and, perhaps, a new member, even though there was just something nice about it just being the two of them.

The light made everything appear more orange than it usually did, shining on the hills and grass.

He stretched, leaning back before yawning while his friend grabbed his halberd. Jakotsu reached down to pick up his own weapon, placing the weapon on his back. He looked into the distance, standing close by Bankotsu as the wind moved their hair insignificantly.

The cold morning breeze touched their skin in a gentle manner. They stared at the sky, the sunrise barely visible behind the clouds, before they once again began walking, Jakotsu didn't notice the feelings subtly return until he was left with those same feelings and once again became absorbed in his thoughts.

The relaxing moment he had previously had was certainly gone, replaced by the uneasiness he had felt beforehand. After all the days that had passed, it just felt repetitive.

They didn't say much the entire morning aside from a few sentences, both focused on vastly different things. Bankotsu being focused with finding strong members to join the mercenary band, and Jakotsu being focused on something entirely different.

Jakotsu listened to the sound of their footsteps as they proceeded to make their way away from the hills, and presumably even further from the field they had passed through beforehand.

It was difficult to accept it, that was something Jakotsu had realized over the past few days. It didn't seem as hard as it felt, and there was just so many different emotions to deal with and so many questions that he didn't have an answer to, and he wasn't entirely sure if he ever would. It was all very, very new to him and he wasn't sure what to do. This was a problem he would have to find some kind of solution to, but it didn't seem like there was one.

He felt like sighing, but that seemed like it would concern Bankotsu, and concerning him wasn't something Jakotsu intended to do, especially not now.

All the confusion, and the terror which consumed him entirely were a lot, and that wasn't even all of it as his emotions decided to throw stupid heart wrenching sadness on top of all that. Honestly, it was frustrating.

It always sounded so easy and simple when talked about. He never expected this to be so complicated and confusing, and all the feelings that came along with it were just something he never had expected, and it felt as though he hadn't thought about anything else for days and he wasn't sure if that was false.

Despite the fact he _had_ been thinking about this all that time, it didn't make any more sense now than it had before.

The sky gradually changed from the light orange colour it had to a light blue as the sun rose higher.

As the hills began getting less and less visible, Jakotsu focused on a conversation with Bankotsu. It was plain, really just focusing on details about the mercenary band Bankotsu was going to be the leader of. It seemed like a good plan, though Jakotsu was content with how it was.

Regardless, he intended to be beside Bankotsu, as they searched for people to join the band of mercenaries.

It seemed like quite a bit to take in, a lot of things to figure out. There were so many different questions, and so many different things to figure out.

As the two of them arrived in a meadow covered in flower bunches, they stopped underneath a rather large tree, sitting under it and noticing how much warmer the weather had become since the morning, the warmth and the calmness covering the them both.

They closed their eyes, sitting side-by-side in the quietness.


	2. Stars

**A/N: So here's the next chapter. I think the next one will probably be more plot related, but then again, this is mostly just a longer version of the one-shots I did, but different. Probably more story.**

* * *

The two walked through a village they had recently arrived in, talking to people and listening in an attempt to hear news about a potential member of the mercenary band.

Jakotsu was still focused on his thoughts, something that at this point, mostly just annoyed him. The wind was quite loud, rushing through their hair and the leaves of the trees, and the grass was visibly moving as well.

Maybe this was going to take a bit longer than expected, Jakotsu had realized, especially given that it already had. He really hadn't expected it to be as difficult as it was whenever it was talked about, and honestly, it was a _lot_ of things he didn't expect, maybe he hadn't realized just how complicated it'd really be. Experiencing something yourself was really different than hearing about it, generally, and as it seemed, that was the case. So, of course love felt differently than it did just hearing about it, and experiencing everything it came with.

Perhaps the two of them were a bit of a disturbing presence in a village, with Bankotsu holding his large halberd Banryu with one hand, and Jakotsu, who dressed in what was often considered a strange manner, with his sword on his back, the two certainly seemed like an unusual sight. Regardless, the villagers didn't seem to mind that much, continuing what they were doing and their discussions. They listened carefully, in case there was something useful they might mention.

Jakotsu couldn't help but continue getting lost in his thoughts, some of them considering the possibility of confessing.. But it was just ridiculous, it wasn't difficult to find problems with that idea. It'd just take a little while to accept it, after all, he was still pretty confused.

But falling in love with your best friend was, generally, pretty confusing. It was also pretty terrifying, and that was almost if not just as annoying.

He attempted to be a lot more talkative the past few days, as he didn't want to alarm his friend, and he was pretty sure he had at least some success. They discussed certain details about the mercenary band, although mostly ideas for names for it.

"We'll have to name it something good," Bankotsu said, "Perhaps we'll have to wait until we find more members, though.."

"How many members do you think we'll find?" Jakotsu asked. In a way, it was nice to be back to the way it usually was, all the conversations and small, pointless moments. The lightheartedness of these moments was something they valued, though not really mentioned. It was nice.

"I'm not sure. We'll probably at least find three." Bankotsu had answered. There was a lot of things neither of them were certain about that involved the mercenary band, and of course, lots of things to figure out. They didn't really know how many members they'd end up finding just yet, and perhaps they wouldn't for awhile. They hadn't even found one at the moment, though they were probably getting closer to finding one.

The villagers didn't appear to discuss anything important, mostly just talking about things they considered unimportant. They were pointless, as they didn't really help with their goal. It mostly just seemed pointless that they were even looking in the village for news, talking with people and listening and yet they weren't really getting anywhere, though hopefully they would..

Despite how long they had been in the village, there didn't seem to be anything eventful happening, and somehow, the day passed quickly and soon the sun was setting and everything was getting darker, meaning they would be looking for a place to stay in the village instead of what they previously had been doing.

They were successful, although it all felt like it was happening very quickly, and suddenly it was just night and colder than it had been earlier in the day, the sky a dark blue that was covered in stars. Jakotsu closed his eyes and leaned back, before opening them almost immediately afterwards, and looking at the night sky, feeling unease.

He probably should be sleeping, instead of sitting outside and looking at the stars like he was, but he just felt restless.

It was nice to just think, sometimes, although lately he had been doing an annoying amount of thinking. Several days had passed and he still didn't understand it any more than he originally had, and it always felt like it was going to be back at that. Why was it so difficult? It never seemed difficult, like he'd be stuck thinking about it for an incredibly long time with no solution, and nothing to do about it.

He couldn't tell Bankotsu, and that was obvious. But why was it difficult to accept that?

It was unlikely that it'd be requited, and that Bankotsu would like him back. If he told Bankotsu, he wasn't sure what would happen. It could ruin their friendship, and that was something he didn't want to risk.

Jakotsu sighed, remaining confused.

He didn't expect to fall in love with Bankotsu, or really at all. But love was unpredictable, and then suddenly it was there. At least, that was how it seemed. Perhaps it just slowly grows, very subtly until one day you realize. It was complicated, and mostly just confusing. All of the emotions it brought were just strange.

Maybe some things made more sense now, or maybe they made less sense instead. This was unusual.. That was all Jakotsu could really say about it.

It was sad, in a way, that his feelings were unrequited. Unrequited love was sad, wasn't it?

Jakotsu hadn't really known that sadness until recently, when he discovered he was in love with Bankotsu. It was sad that his feelings would be unrequited, and maybe love just came with sadness. He didn't really know, this was the first time he had really been in love.

He knew he should probably go inside, although he probably wouldn't for a little while. It was a nice night, and he had a lot to think about.

Maybe, it was kind of frustrating at this point. At this point, which was something he had been thinking about quite a bit, it just seemed to annoy and frustrate him.

The minutes passed, as he kept thinking about it pointlessly. He glanced up at the stars, placing his hand on his face as his thoughts continued. He sighed, once again, before standing up and quietly going back inside. It was late, he should probably get some sleep. They'd likely be travelling tomorrow, after all, resuming their goal to find people to join the mercenary band.

He soon fell asleep, suddenly waking up early in the morning.

The sun was still in the process of rising, the sky a light orange that was lighting up the mountains in the distances. Everything always looked very orange during the sunrise, it was honestly a very beautiful sight, almost refreshing even.

Bankotsu was awake, as well, the two having a casual, uninteresting conversation.

"Hey, Jakotsu." Bankotsu had greeted that morning, a cheerful expression as he walked over to his friend.

"Hello." Jakotsu had replied enthusiastically, smiling.

It was a lot quieter today, as he noticed. They continued talking about small details, or just in general. In a way, it was just nice talking.

After a bit of time had passed in the day, the two of them walked around in the village as they had done the day before. The villagers talked more, about more interesting subjects.

"A demon?" Bankotsu asked, talking to someone who lived in the village.

"Yes, it's a very large demon who eats other demons." He explained.

"That's not a demon!" Another said, "It was a human!"

As the villagers talked, Bankotsu smiled, "Well, it seems worth checking out. Where did you say this human was?"

Once they received details from the villagers, they began travelling once again to find it.

Jakotsu still didn't really understand love, but perhaps one day he would. Or maybe he wouldn't, after all, love was very confusing. That was something he knew about it currently, maybe it'd just be different one day.

He smiled, his hair blowing gently in the breeze as he walked alongside his friend.


	3. Spiders are kinda mean

They walked through the fields of grass, the wind blowing through the grass, harshly moving it in the opposite direction. It was early in the morning, the sky was still a tangerine colour. The radiant light from the sun was covering everything, and there was an orange tint to just about everything they could see.

Jakotsu liked mornings, in a way. They definitely seemed to have some good qualities, although there was some things he didn't like as much.

The two continued walking, occasionally talking, although their conversation was pointless. They had been travelling for several days to the lead they recently got, although it appeared they were still quite far from the area the villagers had mentioned. Jakotsu still had a few other things on his mind, but that wasn't unusual, especially since he had recently came to that realization.

He felt a little more at ease today than he had previously. Perhaps having a lead helped a bit, or perhaps it was because they had run into a few more warriors the past few days, and some of them were pretty cute. Maybe he was a bit more used to it than he had been previously.

"I hope this guy is as strong as they say he is," Bankotsu said, "Otherwise it might just have been a waste of time.."

"Well, we could always kill him." Jakotsu proposed.

"Ah, that's true," Bankotsu replied, "Although it'd be a bit of a shame we wouldn't be getting anyone to join the mercenary band."

Jakotsu smiled, glancing at Bankotsu briefly before he cheerfully said, "We can always keep looking. Maybe we'll see some handsome guys while we're at it."

They continued talking about things similar to this, until eventually they passed through the fields of grass and the mountains and the sky was dark blue and covered in stars.

It seemed the time passed so quickly lately, though somehow it didn't feel like it did at the same time. There was a village in the distance, but it seemed too far away to travel at the moment.

The two of them began setting up near a cave, which mostly included setting their weapons down and starting a fire, which they sat near and watched, talking more about various subjects.

Bankotsu sat close to him, as they discussed a few details for the mercenary band, like how many members they should have and things similar to that. Jakotsu subtly flirted with Bankotsu the entire time, but it seemed Bankotsu hadn't really noticed.

"Hey, Jakotsu." Bankotsu said suddenly, turning towards Jakotsu in casual way.

"Yeah?"

"I kept forgetting to ask, but I think you should be my second-in-command."

"Huh?" Jakotsu questioned, "Wouldn't someone else be better?"

"Well, I haven't met anyone like that yet and I don't think I will," Bankotsu answered, "But if that did happen, you can always be third-in-command."

"Okay, Bankotsu. I guess that works." Jakotsu smiled.

A few minutes passed before they continued talking.

"We should probably get some sleep." Bankotsu observed, glancing at the sky briefly.

"Yeah, we'll need to continue travelling in the morning, huh?" Jakotsu replied, "Do you think we'll see any good looking guys?"

"Perhaps." Bankotsu said, adjusting his position into what appeared to be a more comfortable one.

Jakotsu thought it was possible he might hate love, which certainly seemed to be unusual. Everyone talked about love like it was great, right? True, it wasn't like Jakotsu was exactly normal, some would argue not at all. With his fighting style and fashion sense, he was usually seen as _very_ unusual.

Maybe Jakotsu hadn't experienced the positive things about it yet, although in a way he doubted he would. What was the positive parts? If it was being with the person you fell in love with, then he was sure it was extremely unlikely.

It felt like there was a billion different thoughts going through his head, and quite a few of them involved Bankotsu in some way. Which was.. definitely something.

Jakotsu leaned back, closing his eyes briefly. He was pretty close to Bankotsu, as he had previously noticed.

Somehow, it seemed there wasn't really anything to talk about.

"I wonder if we can convince them to change their name so it has 'kotsu' in it." Bankotsu said, looking into the distance.

"It could be a requirement." Jakotsu suggested somewhat cheerfully.

Bankotsu nodded in reply, closing his eyes briefly before opening them seconds later, "I think that sounds reasonable."

Jakotsu smiled, and got into a more comfortable position. He continued looking up at the stars, something he felt like he had been doing quite a bit lately. He glanced at Bankotsu, who seemed a bit closer than he had before.

Suddenly, before he had fallen asleep, there was a loud noise. The two quickly reached for their weapons and looked for the source, which quickly appeared. A large demon showed up. It appeared to be some kind of spider. Bankotsu quickly grabbed his halberd, Banryu, and approached it carelessly. This was proven to be a mistake, as it swiftly attacked before he had time dodge. It was remarkably fast.

Bankotsu swung Banryu at it quickly, though it dodged with its speed. The spider didn't seem to have managed to seriously injure Bankotsu, as the wound on his arm was small.

"Hahaha. Foolish mortal." The spider said, "The poison in your wound will kill you soon enough."

Admittedly, that made it a little bit more concerning. Jakotsu looked over at Bankotsu, who rushed in with Banryu, swinging it multiple times. He continued missing, the spider's speed was unfortunately too fast. It went in to attack.

"Bankotsu!" Jakotsu called out, reaching for his sword. He hoped to slow the spider down a little.

Quickly, he swung his sword, hitting the spider - which probably hadn't expected a weapon like his, since it really appeared as a normal sword - and leaving a minor wound, allowing Bankotsu to slice it in half with his halberd.

Jakotsu walked over, glancing at Bankotsu's wound. Bankotsu looked at him, still somewhat smiling. Jakotsu looked out into distance. The village they had seen previously wasn't that far away, "We could probably get there before sunrise." Jakotsu suggested.

Bankotsu nodded.

They headed off to the village. It took them a little while to arrive. Luckily, it wasn't difficult to find the things they needed. The two of them had found a place to stay, too. It was likely they would stay a few days.

It didn't take them very long to fall asleep.


End file.
